Multiple function tools are well known in the prior art. Disclosed are several pocket tools having a multiplicity of working tools for portable hand-held use. Examples of such prior art are shown in the examples that follow.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,329, granted Nov. 3, 1998, to S. Frazer, discloses a hand tool having retractable jaws. The assembly of interconnected jaws is pivotally mounted itself on one or more handles that define a housing for the jaw assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,600, granted Sep. 22, 1998, to M. Cachot, discloses a multifunctional pocket tool capable of receiving removable screwing attachments, such as Phillips attachments, flat screwdrivers, socket wrenches, socket keys and a corkscrew.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,599, granted Sep. 22, 1998, to S. Frazer, discloses a compound pliers tool having linked handles. Each handle is channel shaped having recesses into which, the pivoted interconnecting jaw members can be swung so that they are nested into the handles or alternatively, retracted so as to be partially contained within the handles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,114, granted Dec. 16, 1997, to H. J. McIntosh, et al., discloses a folding multi-tool having channel shaped handles, the partly closed sides comprising plier-receiving openings. The folding multi-tool is foldable between a closed compact configuration, and an open extended configuration for operating the pliers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,856, granted Feb. 20, 1996, to L. K. Legg, teaches of a foldable pair of pliers, a flat screwdriver, a Phillips screwdriver, a wire cutting notch and a scissors shear, with each handle being pivotally displaceable between a foldable position and an extendible position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,366, granted Dec. 7, 1993, to S. Frazer, discloses a combination hand tool with retractable pliers jaws. The movement of the jaw members from the projected position automatically swings the handles together. Mechanism is provided to interconnect the handles when the jaw members are retracted.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,212,844, granted May 28, 1993, to G. C. Sessions, et al., teaches of a combination tool that includes a pair of retractable jaws capable of being unlocked and moved into an exposed, operating position. The tool includes a single compact unit with, on one end of the handles, pivoted jaws sliding into and out of the handles, and at the distal end of the handles, a selected group of pivotally attached tools.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,142,721, granted Sep. 1, 1992, to G. C. Sessions, et al., teaches of a combination tool that includes a pair of retractable jaws capable of being moved into an exposed, operating position. The tool includes a single compact unit with, on one end of the handles, pivoted jaws sliding into and out of the handles, and at the distal end of the handles, a selected group of pivotally attached tools.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,173, granted Nov. 8, 1991, to M. C. Collins, et al., discloses a multifunctional or combinational tool having a screwdriver, a saw blade, a serrated blade, a metal file, and a knife blade, divided into two groups. Each group is color-coded, and rotatably mounted into recesses in a two-part handle, and a pair of pliers, also rotatably mounted in each handle part.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,238,862, granted Dec. 16, 1980, to T. S. Leatherman, discloses a pocket multiple tool having channel shaped handles that are foldable over plier jaws for compact carrying and storage. To maintain a strong grip on an object, a locking means is provided. The handles also contain other useful tools that are foldable about the distal ends of the handles.
The prior art recited above does not teach of the novel advantages that are found in the present invention. Several teach of foldable pliers that are rotatably mounted in the handles for convenient carrying. Others have plier jaws that are pivoted to the elongated handles. None teach of a portable pocket tool having manually extensible pivoted jaws that are self-locking, but also can be positively locked by a rotatable lock means in either its fully elongatable or its fully retractable positions. Additionally, none use powdered metal or metal injection molding technologies to speed production, reduce manufacturing costs and improve product uniformity.
Using Powdered Injection Molding
Injection molding is a productive and widely used technique for shaping plastics. A relatively new technology known as Powder Injection Molding (PIM) uses the shaping advantage of injection molding but is applicable to metals and ceramics. This process combines a small quantity of a polymer with an inorganic powder to form a feedstock that can be molded. After shaping, the polymeric binder is extracted and the powder is sintered, often to near-theoretical densities. Accordingly, PIM delivers structural materials in a shaping technology that was previously restricted to polymers. Manufacturing efficiencies are achieved when the pocket tool is formed using a powdered metal process to minimize shrinkage, the necessity for metal finishing following removal from the mold or part, and to increase speed of production.
In the PIM process, the pocket tool is formed by the steps of creating a multiple cavity mold or part for each component of the assembled tool including the handle subassembly, elongate members of the pliers, pivot pins, fastener or rivet, traveling lock and alternative tools by shaping the part using metallic powders. (Since the tool components are symmetrical, just one cavity for a handle, an elongate member, pin, fastener or rivet and each alternative tool. Distinguishing features, such as the traveling lock hole in one of the elongate members can be attained using a filler material.) Polymeric binders are added to hold the powders in place, while bonding the powders in a sintering furnace to burn off the binder. There is a consequent increase in density of the casted component which then has mechanical, wear and corrosion resistant properties equivalent to a machined material. When the pocket tool is cast in the part by the PIM pressing process, all the required elements thereof can be made by a single injection, which expedites assembly by component production having more precise tolerances with minimal shrinkage or metal finishing.
As a technology, PIM has been around for some time, but really only saw widespread commercialization in the 1980s. For a limited time in the 1920s it was applied to the production of ceramic spark plug bodies. By the late 1950s, many carbide and ceramic components were being shaped using epoxy, wax, or cellulose binders, but the production volumes were small. Major attention was given to the process in 1979 when two design awards were given to metal products.
Metal injection molding or MIM is another manufacturing technique for making complex machined or investment cast parts. MIM merges injection molding and powdered metal technologies by blending a polymer with an extremely fine metal powder. The blended material is injection molded to produce intricately formed parts that are repeatable in high production manufacturing.
In the MIM method, a metal-filled or a metallic powder-filled plastic is injected into a mold and after molding, the plastic is removed with sintering of the molded metal component. Due to the fine powders used, the density of the molded component dramatically increases. After heating, MIM components likewise have mechanical, wear, and corrosion resistance properties equivalent to machined material.
There is a particular need for portable pocket tool that may be carried on a key-chain or be worn around one's neck as a pendant, one that may find application in emergency service conditions, such as in a fishing lure tackle box, an archery repair kit, or a skiing repair kit. Numerous other applications exist.
Accordingly, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel portable multi-purpose hand-held tool where a handle pair comprises a housing to retain a set of pliers, two types of screwdrivers and ancillary tools selected from a group consisting of an bottle or can opener, corkscrew, knife, and a file.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel portable multi-purpose hand-held tool where the housing is a pair of handles from which there are a slidably extensible and slidably retractable set of pliers.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a novel portable multi-purpose hand-held tool where the housing is a pair of handles having grooved channels that receive the distal ends of the slidably retractable and extensible pliers.
It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a novel portable multi-purpose hand-held tool where the slidably extensible pliers may be frictionally held in either the retracted or extended positions or positively locked in the retracted or the fully elongated position for use as pliers.
Yet still, another object of the present invention is to provide a novel portable multi-purpose hand-held tool where the slidably retractable pliers may be locked in the fully closed position with each handle closely adjacent to each other for storage in future use.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a novel portable multi-purpose hand-held tool that that is lower in cost to manufacture, with greater precision, using powdered metal and metal injection molding technologies.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a self-locking tool that can be secured on a keychain or similarly secured and worn as a pendant on a necklace, thong or the like when not in use.
A final object of the present invention is to provide a novel portable multi-purpose hand-held tool where the handle grips can be maintained in a closed position when the pliers are fully retracted so that the tool housing serves as a leverage handle, thereby making it more convenient when using the ancillary tools such as the screwdrivers.
These as well as other objects and advantages of the present invention will be better understood and appreciated upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.